Tyler, TX — A car crashed into a house in Tyler off Gentry Parkway this past Wednesday morning (March 25, 2015) after the driver lost control. Police said that Lloyd Johnson, 42, was badly injured and also charged with DWI after his car hit a house at about 4:30 a.m. that morning.
According to the police reports, Johnson had been driving his car along Gentry Parkway that morning (a Toyota Camry) when he lost control along a curved section near Van highway and swerved off the side of the road.
His car then flipped and crashed into a pole, a front porch, then the side of a nearby house. Johnson’s car did not injure anyone inside the house, but the accident left him with major injuries. Police said that they suspected him of being under the influence and charged him with DWI. They also said they found marijuana on his person, but that hasn’t been confirmed.
Map of the Accident
Commentary:
If this man was under the influence of drugs, then he is going to have to answer for his choices. If he was under the influence of alcohol and had been drinking at a bar earlier that night, then both he and the bar will have to answer for the choices they made. What do I mean by that?
Well, in Texas, selling alcohol as a bar or a pub means that you have to comply with TABC regulations. Texas law specifically says that licensed providers of alcohol shall not serve or provide alcohol to anyone who is underage or obviously intoxicated. The idea is to prevent people from making bad decisions and hurting others when they clearly aren’t in the correct mind to decide for themselves — that’s the “catch” of selling alcohol as a business. But it’s not so much of a “catch” as is it just plain responsible behavior.
If someone is served alcohol when they’re clearly already drunk, then it stands to reason they might get into an accident. If they do, then the law says that both the bar and the person drinking can be punished; again, it’s a form of accountability. In addition to criminal charges, however, civil charges can also be brought against bars for over-serving customers.
Now, I know people think that attorneys just want to find ways to sue people, but think of it this way: What’s to stop a bar from over-serving customers if they never get caught or punished? Texas consistently ranks the highest in the nation for alcohol-related accidents, and it’s a dubious honor. That says we don’t regulate the way our bars are serving and we don’t hold them accountable. Understand that this doesn’t take away from the legal responsibility of someone who drinks and drivers, it just expands the horizon to encapsulate all the parties responsible for alcohol-related accidents. If an adult gave alcohol to a minor who then got into an accident, it’d be the same exact idea — except bars are licensed by the state to serve alcohol in a responsible way.
— Grossman Law Offices
